Manchester re-zones for development

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,153
4,258
Pines; Bamber area
We (The Forked River Mountain Coalition) are going to make our voice heard regarding a new cluster development being proposed at the south end of Roosevelt City in Whiting. They are making the outrageous presumption that they will be building at the headwaters of a tributary of Cedar Creek, and they are actually violating the line delineating the Pinelands Preservation Zone. In fact, they want to build things on a 200 foot elevated ridge that has the Toms River watershed on the east, the Cedar on the Southeast, and the Rancocas on the West. Think they might have chosen a better place?

Nibble nibble at the edges, destroy the orchids, kill the sedges.

Manchester_Cluster_line.PNG
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
Our opinion counts. Local politicians need to know that New Jersey residents care about the future of the Pinelands. I report with cautious optimism that the Richland package sewerage plant is all but dead because of local opposition.
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
I am happy to report that our little community once again demonstrated that we do have power of place. The Pinelands Commission and Atlantic County Utilities Authority tried to sway our municipality into continuing the Richland sewer plant study after hearing the committee was ready to vote down its continuance. This attempt was supposed to be a private meeting, but township residents demanded it become a public venue:

Representatives came from the black community, the farm community, the village, the local business community, and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance to hear about the sewering plans, most for the first time. Many spoke during the public portion, asking pointed questions. Only one person commented in defense of the sewer plant. That was our ex-mayor who was recently voted out of his position, although he remains on as a committeeman. He was also the architect of Richland Village redevelopment. The ex-mayor also tried very hard to stop today’s meeting from taking place once he learned it was to became a public event.

Today was democracy at its best, although the ACUA backed out when it became an open venue. Executive Director Nancy Wittenberg and Environmental Technologies Coordinator Ed Wengrowski both showed up, and kindly fielded a wide variety of questions about this initiative for two-and-a-half hours. Everyone was grateful that the Pinelands staff took the time out to explain what was going on. Today's open meeting really helped everyone to understand wastewater issues in light of all the confusion over Pinelands Villages becoming priority growth zones. Seeing the opposition the staff concluded that we were not required to continue down the package sewer plant path if the residents didn’t want it.
 

dogg57

Piney
Jan 22, 2007
2,912
375
Southern NJ
southjerseyphotos.com
I am happy to report that our little community once again demonstrated that we do have power of place. The Pinelands Commission and Atlantic County Utilities Authority tried to sway our municipality into continuing the Richland sewer plant study after hearing the committee was ready to vote down its continuance. This attempt was supposed to be a private meeting, but township residents demanded it become a public venue:

Representatives came from the black community, the farm community, the village, the local business community, and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance to hear about the sewering plans, most for the first time. Many spoke during the public portion, asking pointed questions. Only one person commented in defense of the sewer plant. That was our ex-mayor who was recently voted out of his position, although he remains on as a committeeman. He was also the architect of Richland Village redevelopment. The ex-mayor also tried very hard to stop today’s meeting from taking place once he learned it was to became a public event.

Today was democracy at its best, although the ACUA backed out when it became an open venue. Executive Director Nancy Wittenberg and Environmental Technologies Coordinator Ed Wengrowski both showed up, and kindly fielded a wide variety of questions about this initiative for two-and-a-half hours. Everyone was grateful that the Pinelands staff took the time out to explain what was going on. Today's open meeting really helped everyone to understand wastewater issues in light of all the confusion over Pinelands Villages becoming priority growth zones. Seeing the opposition the staff concluded that we were not required to continue down the package sewer plant path if the residents didn’t want it.
Just a little more Info Did not want to jump the thread
http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/buena-vista-sewer-plant-idea.8133/
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
Folks,

The new Office of Planning Advocacy has finally clarified its position about State Planning Rule revisions. The 47 Pinelands Villages are “Priority Growth Investment Areas.” Richland Village is the Pinelands Commission’s prototype for redevelopment, Smart Growth, and sewering. It will be very difficult to protect the rural character of these valued places once these changes are enacted. Learn from the Richland Village experience.

Here is the official position of the New Jersey Business Action Center, Office of State Planning, Department of State. Deputy Director (ex- Pinelands Commissioner) Kennedy stated:

The "Advance Notice of Rules" in relation to the Pinelands does not list "villages" in the management area section b/c historically they have been treated as SPC centers (see Appendix C in the '99 MOU). If this new criteria based system is enabled, the plan would be to continue to treat these villages as centers, thus making them "Priority Growth Investment Areas." Clearly, the MOU would need to be reconsidered but the general relationship that has existed between the SPC and the PC is not broken and we are looking to strengthen and carry that positive relationship forward.
You can feel free to share this response to anyone seeking this clarification.
DK
(March 16, 2012 email).

What are these growth areas?

Priority Growth Investment Area means an area where more significant development and redevelopment is preferred and where investment to support more significant development and redevelopment is encouraged (Draft State Strategic Plan Advance Notice of Rules: Priority Investment Area Criteria, 2011: 2).

Richland Village’s role in this process:

2006 – Richland Village is “a prototype for the immediate region as well as the State” (Richland Village: Growing Smart into the 21st Century, 2006: 1).
2006 – Richland Village will “pursue wastewater treatment options to become a model for Smart Growth in the Pinelands” (Richland Traffic Calming Study, 2006: 7)
2009 – “The Commission hopes Richland Village could become a model for similar areas, he said (David Kutner, Special Programs Director, Pinelands Commission)(Vineland Times Journal, September 8, 2009).
2012 – “‘It could be a test model for other villages in the Pinelands,’ said Township Committee member Charles ‘Chuck’ Chiarello, the longtime mayor who was ousted recently amid a political backlash over his village plans.”
Watch out,
Spung-Man
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
Stick a fork in it, the Richland Village package sewer plant is done. Our Committee on a three to two vote killed the project during tonight's Workshop Meeting. Normally one or two residents show up for this venue. Tonight we had the municipal hall packed with sign-carrying locals. We care about this place. It was orderly and polite - but firm. Sunshine is a wonderful disinfectant.

Spung-Man
 
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Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
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This is a hopeful sign not just for my village, but for other villages that wish to maintain their rural Pinelands character. They too are slated to become Priority Growth Investment Areas. This means "an area where more significant development and redevelopment is preferred and where investment to support more significant development and redevelopment is encouraged" (State Planning Commission, 2011: 2)

In a recent article credit for our sewer scheme ultimately rested upon the ousted mayor.

Pinelands panel to control sewers


It appears that the Pinelands Commission is seeking distance to the topic. “This was not our project we were supporting something the township was interested in doing," said Wittenberg, New rules (legislative) will be needed to implement some of the Pinelands Commission's redevelopment plans under the guise of "water quality management purposes," which really means it is "working with the Legislature to keep more areas open for future sewer service."

As early as December 2004, the ex-mayor was planning behind closed doors to sewer Richland Village. According to an email collected under OPRA, a super plant "will allow us [Buena Vista Township] to triple or quadruple density on various sites." In June 2006, the Pinelands Commission told the Township that their super-plant driven "wastewater flows would far exceed permitted allowance," and had officials throttle back to 96,876 gallons per day. Still, that was enough capacity to double the Village size. In public, sewering was denied until 2009 even to at least three of the committeemen (of five).

Also see:
Environmental groups to protest plan to install new sewer lines in Wawa tract

You will be seeing a lot more of this...

Cheers,
Mark
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
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New state agreement affirms Pinelands role in sewer plans, But critics fear it may lead to more growth.



"The Pinelands Commission will keep on calling the shots for future development in the nearly 1 million-acre region, with a new agreement on sewer planning that says the Pinelands rules are paramount.

Some skeptics are worried the agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection covers Pinelands villages — some 47 traditional settlement clusters, such as Brookville and Warren Grove in southern Ocean County...

...That was a rationale for a proposed sewer plant to serve Richland village in Buena Vista, a proposal that was decisively shot down in recent weeks by residents worried about the cost of sewers and potential for more development.
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
It looks like Maurice River Township wilderness could be the next Richland Village.

Pinelands redevelopment initiatives may not be limited to Villages. A Planned Highway Business District is being proposed for turning wilderness into a center of place development along the Route 47 bypass in Maurice River Township. I think NJ Transit Capital Planning is part of this scheme. 30% of the Township is located outside the Pinelands National Reserve. Build where people are already. Public funds should not be used to destroy high quality Pinelands habitat.

njplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/Maurice-River-Township.doc
"The Township has recognized and attempted to address the need for new growth by creating business zoning opportunities on the Route 347 bypass through the enactment of the Pinelands Business (PB) and Planned Highway Business (PPHB) districts. (See attached Zone Map 1 and 2) The bypass runs through the Pinelands National Reserve and is regulated by the State Pinelands Commission. The area is not a growth area and is considered to have a valuable ecological integrity. Zoning was enacted to allow for limited commercial development. This has not been successful in part due to inadequate infrastructure, ownership and environmental constraints but also because it is disconnected from the established Village’s in the Township."

The rhetoric sounds similar to that used to justify Richland Village: Growing Smart into the 21st Century.

S-M
 

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,552
2,465
59
millville nj
www.youtube.com
i was just driving down Hunters mill rd an hour ago and was thinking of all the unprotected private woods in the area and how they could potentially be destroyed but someone greedy for a dollar.maurice river has some big woods,a little more oak then the barrens but just as big as the barrens core area.I just drove from mays landing down first avenue and hunters mill and it's a half hour drive with not a house in sight.It should be wilderness,close a few sand roads and it could ebe.
 

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,552
2,465
59
millville nj
www.youtube.com
And the people living down there would work where??

Such a beautiful area filled with wildlife.
most of them work at the two state prisons in delmont,some work at the other two prisons in fairfield township.
They could always apply at the hellhole I work at.it's good money and over 100 degrees weather it's summer or not every day!
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
FYI:

According to the NJ League of Municipalities, this is coming to a Village near you (it may be necessary to cut and past the link into your browser to access this document):

Implications Regarding the Pinelands/DEP MOU on Wastewater Management Regulations

www.njslom.org/grants/Pinelands-MOU-Implications-.pdf

"In May 2012, an MOU between the New Jersey DEP and the Pinelands Commission was ratified that identified Pinelands villages, towns and regional growth centers as sewer service areas. This memorandum should be a call to action for all affected Pinelands’ municipalities. It involves the possibility that impacted municipalities will have to review and update their master plans and land use ordinances to reflect the realities of this agreement....​
For example, municipalities may have zoning ordinances in place that allow development at much greater densities than those communities would actually desire, given an historic belief that the Pinelands Commission would never actually allow such densities. That belief may no longer be valid....
Summary
All of these issues, seen perhaps as somewhat foreign to many Pinelands towns and villages accustomed to slow and heavily regulated development, are now suddenly very important. A case could be made that there exists a pent-up demand for new development in many Pinelands areas that are close to the beach communities and accessible to many South Jersey recreational amenities.​
Affected municipalities should move quickly in order to retain control over their land use futures. The alternative is to have a developer define that future by way of a proposal that meets current land use densities and development guidelines even though they may not reflect what the municipality really desires.​
The bottom line is that action now is critical to assess the impact of this important regulatory change on your community. Communities must weigh the cost of paying for the necessary plan amendments and regulatory changes that may be necessary versus the cost of risking development projects that could be imposed on them which they may not want."​
What is not clear is what happens to a municipality that opposes growth.

S-M
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
"Our view is that Buena Vista’s four Villages are not appropriate places for sewered development."

If you've been following this thread, it's clear that my belief is that the Pinelands Commission has been working hard to turn Pinelands Villages into Priority Growth zones. Pinelands Preservation Alliance has now written an opinion on this issue as related specifically to my community. On August 7, 2012 Executive Director Carleton Montgomery wrote to Buena Vista Township Mayor Peter Bylone to clarify issues related to the new Wastewater Management Plan. Attached is a full PDF-formatted copy.


The letter states:

Dear Mayor Bylone:
We are writing to clarify an important point that has come up during the creation of the new Wastewater Management Plan (WMP) for Atlantic County’s Pinelands municipalities. Specifically, it is important that your Township understand it is not legally obligated to agree to the inclusion of your Pinelands Villages – Richland Village, Newtonville, Collings Lakes, and Milmay – in expanded Sewer Service Areas.
On July 19, Atlantic County’s Department of Regional Planning and Development sent a letter to Buena Vista Township asking the Township to pass resolutions approving the Sewer Service Area extensions built into the County’s proposed WMP. The WMP proposes to include all the Pinelands Villages in new Sewer Service Areas.
The idea of expanding Sewer Service Areas to include all Pinelands Villages seems to have come out of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Pinelands Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) designed to coordinate DEP’s review of the new WMPs with the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). Some people appear to read this MOU to require that municipalities agree to include Villages in new Sewer Service Areas. We believe this is not the case.
Throughout its life, the Pinelands CMP has permitted Pinelands Villages to be sewered if a municipality wanted it to be and the sewering met CMP standards for Villages. Among these standards is that for any land use, including use of sewers, “The character and magnitude of the use is compatible with existing structures and uses in the Village ….” NJAC 7:50-5.27(a). The CMP has never required municipalities to permit sewers in all Villages, and nor does or could the recent MOU with DEP impose such a mandate.
In most cases, Pinelands Villages have not been sewered or included in Sewer Service Areas, and this is perfectly consistent with the CMP. Indeed, the intensive development that sewers may attract could be harmful to many Pinelands Villages, changing the character of the Village, raising property prices, and leading to higher property taxes for existing residents, among other impacts. Whether or not to sewer a Village needs to be judged on a case-by-case basis, with input from the community, in light of the character, history and likely changes in each particular Village.
Our view is that Buena Vista’s four Villages are not appropriate places for sewered development. While sewers can improve water quality when compared to septic systems, they also tend to attract much more intensive development that is not appropriate to long-established rural Villages like these. The water quality benefit of sewering a Village, moreover, may easily be offset and exceeded by the additional water quality harms that come with intensive development.
Sincerely,
Carleton Montgomery
Pinelands residents like myself have always appreciated PPA's role as Pinelands watchdog. Our membership dues are well spent!

S-M
 

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Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
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OK, which statement do you believe is correct?

  1. “...all areas certified by the Commission as Regional Growth Areas, Pinelands Towns, or Pinelands Villages must be included, in their entirety and without any exceptions, within the County's SSA/FWSA...“ (Paul Tyshchenko, Principal Planner, Pinelands Commission, PC to NJDEP & the Atlantic County Department of Regional Planning & Development, email dated July 30, 2012).
  2. “it is important that your Township understand it is not legally obligated to agree to the inclusion of your Pinelands Villages...in expanded Sewer Service Areas” (Carleton Montgomery, Executive Director, Pinelands Preservation Alliance, PPA to Buena Vista Township Mayor Bylone, letter dated August 7, 2012).
Pinelands Villages are truly under threat. See the article below:

Pinelands Residents Fear Plan Changes
PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP — A brewing fight in Atlantic County over future development in Pinelands villages has come to
dominate talks over possible changes to the state Pinelands regional plan. “Where sewers go, development follows,” said Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club, alluding to fears among conservation groups that sewer service could be extended to more Pinelands villages and towns, enabling higher-density development.
Pinelands Commission executive director Nancy Wittenberg said it’s all a misunderstanding of an agreement the commission made with the state Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP is adopting new county sewer service area maps across the state, and the commission wants to maintain its 33-year-old regional plan in seven counties, she said.
S-M
 
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